What is a looked after child?

A child becomes looked after when a court makes a care order, or when the local authority provides them with accommodation for more than 24 hours, for example with the agreement of their parents. Looked after children may live with foster carers, in a children’s home, with relatives, or sometimes at home under a care order. The local authority acts as their “corporate parent”.

Every looked after child should have a care plan, including a personal education plan (PEP) that sets out how their education will be supported. In England, each local authority has a virtual school head who oversees the education of the children it looks after, and schools have a designated teacher for these pupils.

England and Wales

In England, the definition comes from the Children Act 1989 and the term “children looked after” (CLA) is now common in official data. In Wales, the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014 applies, and the term “care-experienced” is widely used. The core idea is the same in both nations.

Why it matters for your setting

• Looked after children often have several professionals around them, so you need clear contacts, including their social worker and virtual school.
• They are more likely to have special educational needs and to be placed in alternative provision.
• Absence, changes of carer and safeguarding concerns should be shared promptly with the right people.

How PupilDB helps

PupilDB includes a Looked After Child flag on each pupil record, alongside parent/carer details, the local authority and referring agency, so staff can see at a glance who needs extra care.